Healthy Living Learning
Healthy life learning is a program for school health management in Lower Saxony , in which over 250 schools have now participated and in which all interested Lower Saxony schools of all types of school can participate.
General information about the program
Healthy life learning is a cooperation program between the state associations of statutory health insurance companies and the State Association for Health and Academy for Social Medicine Lower Saxony eV It aims to develop the “organization school” into a healthy living environment for everyone working and learning. The aim is to create working and learning conditions that promote health and personality, to make learning and teaching “healthier” and to contribute to an improvement in the quality of education through health interventions. Gesund Leben Lern supports schools in developing them into independent schools and in improving quality, as required in the orientation framework for school quality or in the concept of "occupational safety and health management in schools" by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs .
Model phase
Healthy life learning started in 2003 with a term of three years as a cooperation project between the central associations of the statutory health insurance companies and the state associations for health in Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate. Further sponsors were the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Women, Family and Health , the Community Accident Insurance Association and the Lower Saxony State Office for Teacher Training and School Development. Eight schools have successfully tested healthy living for three years . The model phase was evaluated, which made it clear that the concept of integrated health management leads to good results in schools. Thus, in June 2006, all project partners decided to continue learning healthy living at the state level. The role of the central associations of the statutory health insurance funds has been taken over by their regional associations.
Program approach
Principles
In contrast to classic school health promotion projects, Healthy Living Learning is not only about improving the health of students, but also that of teachers and non-teaching staff. The setting approach uses the instruments of company health management , relies on behavior and relationship changes and aims to reduce socially determined inequality of health opportunities among schoolchildren. “Developing schools together” is an important principle of the Healthy Living Learning program . This means that teachers, students, non-teaching staff and parents should all be involved in the development of the school as an organization towards a healthy living environment.
Healthy school development
School health promotion is not an additional task for schools, but part of school self-development and further development. That is why it must be anchored in the daily core business of the school, in teaching, teaching and learning. Preventive and health-promoting work in schools is embedded in an overall concept that combines school development, school quality and health in a meaningful and mutually supportive manner. Healthy school development is seen as a learning process that consists of the steps as shown in the figure. In the individual steps, attention should always be paid to the participation and involvement of those affected. When taking stock, z. B. to determine their view of the problems through surveys or in workshops. It is just as important that those affected analyze the causes of the problems and then develop measures to solve them. That happens in the health circles. The learning process is used in the Healthy Living Program.
Instruments in health management and thus in the healthy living learning program
The steering group
The first step in establishing a permanent health management system, which is firmly anchored in the Healthy Living Learning program, is to set up a steering group in the school. It is the engine and the center of the entire development and change process and should therefore consist of different groups of the school, such as the school management, teachers, students and parents. However, it must be adapted to the conditions and needs of the respective school. The steering group has the following tasks:
- Coordination of the project in the school
- Identify and identify problems
- Development of strategies and goals
- Planning of individual project steps and milestones
- Comprehensive root cause analysis and development of measures
- Information for all students and workers in the school
- Implementation and evaluation of the measures
The health circle
In order to involve as many people affected as possible in the change process, it is advisable to set up health circles on a specific topic. This participation-oriented approach actively involves teachers, staff, students and parents and uses their knowledge of health-related issues and their different perspectives to improve working and learning conditions in the school itself. The aim of a health circle is to collect and analyze all influences that have a positive or negative effect on health, individual well-being, motivation and performance. Subsequently, proposed solutions for the elimination of pathogenic overstrains and incorrect strains and for health-promoting measures are developed, which generally prove to be absolutely practical. The implementation of these measures is not in the hands of the circle, but falls within the competence of the steering group. She has to coordinate the implementation of the solutions. The design of the health circle is based on the school's own requirements. The most important aspects of a health circle:
- 5–10 people affected by the problem to be solved
- on a voluntary basis
- take place around 6 to 8 times, around 2 hours per meeting
- limited period (approx. 2–6 months)
- the meetings are moderated externally
- Description and analysis of the problem
- Development of solution approaches
- Implementation of the suggestions is not in one's own competence
External support in schools
All schools that are included in the Healthy Life Learning program receive two-year support from a prevention specialist from the AOK, IKK classic or HKK. These specialists support the establishment of company health management structures in schools. They also provide help at the start of a project, lead workshops to clarify interests, develop goals and plan projects, work in the steering groups, moderate health circles and mediate regional and national support offers and cooperation partnerships. Furthermore, conferences and workshops are organized for all schools in the program by the State Association for Health and Academy for Social Medicine Lower Saxony eV, in which they can participate free of charge. This is a kick-off event, a workshop for the school management, a workshop for the steering committee speakers, a workshop for schoolchildren and the joint topping-out ceremony after two years, when the schools are released from the project. This means that there is a regular exchange with other schools in Lower Saxony.
Current status of the program
General
In the meantime, over 250 schools from all types of schools are represented in the program throughout Lower Saxony. After the 2019 summer holidays, the program will start its 15th round. Schools have the opportunity to apply to the State Association for Health and Academy for Social Medicine Lower Saxony eV and participate in the program free of charge.
The program is coordinated by the State Association for Health and Academy for Social Medicine Lower Saxony eV Current cooperation partners include the AOK Lower Saxony , the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Equality, the Lower Saxony State Institute for School Quality Development, the Hanover Community Accident Insurance Association , Oldenburg and Braunschweig, the BKK Landesverband Mitte, the social insurance for agriculture, forestry and horticulture, the Lower Saxony State Association of Doctors of the Public Health Service eV, the IKK classic, the Handelskrankenkasse, the BKK Mobil Oil and the Lower Saxony Gymnastics Association. Representatives of all cooperation partners meet regularly for steering group meetings in order to create transparency.
Evaluation
In a joint evaluation project with the Hannover Medical School (MHH), the effect of the GLL project approach was checked by accompanying research by the MHH. This project was financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim was not to evaluate the individual schools that take part in Healthy Living Learning with regard to their change processes, but rather to review the effectiveness of the overall Healthy Living Learning program and the program approach with its instruments (steering group, balanced scorecard, health circle).
Healthy living learning as an example of good practice
The cooperation network for health promotion among socially disadvantaged people has identified the following practical areas of the healthy living learning offer as particularly worthy of emulation (good practice):
- Setting approach
- participation
- Documentation and evaluation
A detailed description can be found in Volume 5 of the series “Concrete Health Promotion” by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA): Criteria of good practice in promoting health among socially disadvantaged people.
Web links
- The Healthy Living Learning program , with a film with three project examples of Healthy Living Learning from different schools, competence lists from many schools that participated in the project and further information about the program.
- Health Management in Schools - A Guide (PDF; 491 kB)
- Program flyer from Healthy Living Learning (PDF; 519 kB)
- Poster for the Healthy Living Learning program (PDF; 768 kB)
- Brochure: Examples of Schooling - Healthy Living Learning as a Motor of School Development (PDF; 1.1 MB)